97 prisoners released from Herat jail

HERAT CITY (PAN): Ninety-seven prisoners were released on Monday from the main prison in western Herat in province in compliance with a presidential decree issued on the Mujahidin Victory Day, an official said.

Eight women were among the beneficiaries of the President Karzai’s orders, Prison Director Gen. Abdul Majid Siddiqui told Pajhwok Afghan News.

One of the freed individuals, Munawar Shah, said he had spent three years in prison under difficult conditions. He claimed 45 inmates were kept in a room meant for 15 people.

Herat jail has the capacity of holding 700 prisoners, but 3,000 individuals are currently being kept there, according to Siddiqui, who said construction work on a new jail was underway.

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